


Sacrifices

by Suitsanthings



Category: Suits (US TV)
Genre: Caring Harvey, Gen, Gun Violence, Hurt Harvey, Hurt Mike Ross, One Shot, Protective Harvey, Protective Harvey Specter, Puppy Analogy Mike Ross, getting shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:02:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27608050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suitsanthings/pseuds/Suitsanthings
Summary: While getting lectured by Harvey, Mike sees a threat. Glancing back at Harvey's angry face, Mike uses his (admittedly poor) judgement.
Relationships: Mike Ross & Harvey Specter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 55





	Sacrifices

“So, what’s our next move?” asked Mike.

Mike and Harvey were walking back from their client’s office. Harvey had managed to force the opposition into a position in which they had to give them a damn good settlement offer. It came through and they looked it over. Harvey deemed the offer more than fair and headed to Mrs. Heigl’s office-their client. They intended to get back for 7 pm so they could return to the office then go out to celebrate.

They had been working side-by-side for years now, with bumps in the road and close calls, but they pulled through like they always did and came back stronger than ever each time.

But, as fate has it, when they presented the offer to Mrs. Heigl, she flipped out about a tiny insignificant detail she found in the contract’s fine detail and refused to listen to Harvey any further. Mike could see a vein in his forehead that was threatening to pop, so he found a way to maneuver them out of the meeting.

Upon successfully ending the meeting he and Harvey had started to discuss strategy on the way back to the office.

“For now we have to give the reply back to those lawyers, and a revised settlement, but they aren’t gonna accept anything now that Heigl has said no”

“Do you still want me to? Revise it?”

“Of course, Mike,” He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “In the meantime, the form I asked you to file may help us with disproving the opposition.”

“Ermmm… About that…”

“What now, Mike?”

“You see…”

“Spit it out”

“Well…” Harvey raised a brow as he turned a sharp corner “I kind of didn’t know how to fill out the form, so I asked Donna, Rachel, and a few other associates too and they were all obviously too busy,” Harvey didn’t notice the bitter edge Mike’s voice had taken on, “then you called me before I could go to Louis-“

“It’s not done?”

“No, sorry Harvey”

Now standing in front of the offices, Mike knows he's about to be on the receiving end of one of Harvey’s brutal lectures. Feeling strangely like a little boy being told off by his father, he tried to pretend to listen, knowing he’d remember every single word anyway.

“One job. One job I gave you. Not only do you not do it, now half the firm knows what we’re doing. Honestly, Mike, part of being a lawyer is figuring it out for yourself, and if you can’t do that there's not much…”

Mike drones Harvey out the minute he sees Simon. He was a part of a pro-bono case. Harvey had won but it had ruined his life. It was around a year and a half ago and he was back. He didn’t exactly look like he wanted to talk, there could be only one reason why he would even be here. Suddenly Mike’s attention was drawn towards his hip, where he could see the outline of a small handgun.

He made eye-contact with Mike, grinned then reached towards his hip.

“Are you even listening to me? Goddamnit Mike! I swear-“

“Harvey-“ Mike tried to inject nervously.

“NO! You do not interrupt me when I’m-“

But the guy had fully drawn the gun and was aiming for Harvey’s back. Mike’s eyes widened. His first thought was to save him. Harvey, his boss, his mentor, the person who had saved his life and given him more than a second chance.

Without fully thinking, Mike thrust his palms out towards Harvey with enough force to send him flying to the ground with bruises. The gunman’s eyes then focused on Mike, with a cry he tried to push himself towards the floor but didn’t get there in time.

Harvey didn’t know what had happened. One second he’s asking Mike if he was even listening and the next he’s on the ground watching Mike’s eyes briefly meet his own- filled with concern, relief, and gratefulness?- Then Mike seemed to remember something above Harvey. Harvey saw how Mike had tried to dodge the bullet but the gun went off and chaos ensued.

Mike cried out as the bullet made contact with his shoulder but it was drowned out by the hoards of screaming crowds. Harvey rushed forward with no time to waste, catching his associate mid-way before he could make contact with the concrete below, lowering his limp form slowly.

Havey set Mike down gently, worried about how light he was. He quickly stripped off his suit-jacket, balled it, and applied pressure to the wound.

“Somebody call 911!” He shouted but the area was virtually empty. Harvey shook his head and searched for his phone. Once he found it, he dialled 911 himself keeping pressure on Mike’s wound.

“Har-Harve… Harv-“

“Yeah, Mike. Shhhh, it's okay I’m here.”

Mike slowly lifted his left hand weakly, Harvey grasped it and held on tightly.

“Sor-rry Sor-“ He coughed up blood, the red liquid dribbling down his jaw.

“No Mike. It’s okay. I’m sorry. Why Mike? Why would you…”

“Cou…d’nt letttt…. Yo-you… hi-ittttt”

“Yes. You could’ve. Don’t you dare ever do that again. It's on its way. It's on its way Mike”

“Alw-way…s…. fo yo-you Har... Har” He coughed again sending little drops of blood onto Harvey’s white shirt “Sor-rry..” Mike’s eyes rolled back into his head. He went completely limp again in Harvey's arms.

“NO! Nononono. Mike! Mike, stay with me. You hear? Wake up!” Harvey tried frantically shaking him. Mike remained unconscious, his head lolling in Harvey’s arms.  
Harvey could hear sirens in the distance “You hear that Mike? Help’s coming, it’s nearly here. Honestly kid. Wake up!”

“Do you know what Donna’s gonna do to me when she finds out? She's gonna kill me, Mike.”

The ambulance finally pulled up. Paramedics spilling out. They placed Mike on a stretcher, Harvey refusing to let go of his hand.

“Please sir, we need to take him in.”

“No,” Harvey ground out, “let me ride with you”

“Sir-“ the EMT cut off at Harvey’s glare. He knew there was no point in arguing, “Fine. But you need to let go of him”

Harvey reluctantly dropped Mike’s limp hand and a minute later they were all in the ambulance, Mike hooked up to way too many pieces of medical equipment for Harvey’s liking. The main ones being a heart monitor -which was thankfully beating- and a defibrillator.

Suddenly, after a sharp turn, the heart rate flat-lined. The paramedics went into a frenzy while Harvey froze with fear. He stared at Mike’s face wishing against the reality that he would wake up. He remembered Mike’s stunning blue eyes, the ones that would go electrifyingly brighter when he stayed up all night or on the rare occasion Harvey showed he cared.

Harvey vaguely knew the EMT’s were shocking his associate but he couldn’t pay attention. He could focus on Mike. His employee, his associate, his reflection, his puppy, his responsibility.

Harvey could feel the tears pooling in his eyes as the monitor continued its beeping. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. A few minutes later they finally reach the hospital.

Harvey attempts to follow Mike again but is held back by security guards this time. Finally getting the message he allows himself to be led to the waiting area. They ask him Mike’s name and surname among other things. His eyes stay on the floor unfocused as he answers the questions hollowly.

The nurse physically stabs him when she asks if there’s anyone else she should call about Mike. He lifts his head, eyes shining with unshed tears, and answers no. She thanks him and walks away with the information. He thinks about it. Mike’s got no-one but his emotionally stunted boss to worry about him in the hospital. With no siblings, his parents murdered in a car crash at 11, a best friend that’s high 24/7, and his grandmother passed a few months ago.

\-----

Eventually, a few hours later, well into the evening, a doctor comes out mentioning Mike Ross. Harvey stands and tries to be attentive as the doctor comes over and introduces himself. 

When he talks about Mike, Harvey's attention is immediately captured.

“Well, I can tell you right now, you’ve got a very lucky young man in there. The bullet went straight through his shoulder, thankfully missing any bones, but the top part of the left lung was pierced. I’m sorry to scar it will permanently. We think this is what caused him to pass out on the scene, en-route, and once again on the table.” Harvey let out a gust of air, “But he pulled through. I would like to keep him here for 2 weeks then he can be released into someone's care with a series of follow-up appointments. He’s resting right now in room 0146, but don’t be alarmed if he doesn’t wake up for a while.

The doctor reached out and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. “You’ve got a good kid in there. He’ll be fine.”

Harvey nodded gratefully and sank back into his seat. His frame was trembling with relief. Donna. He had to call Donna. How could he have forgotten?  
He switched on his phone. It immediately started to vibrate with texts, calls and voicemails from Donna as well as Jessica. He called Donna.

“Harvey? Oh god, Harvey! Where are you? Where’s Mike? Not one call or text from either of you? What happened? I swear to god if either of you are hur-“

“Donna” He interrupts, “I’m at the hospital.”

“Hospital? Where’s Mike? Are you okay? You don’t sound too-“

“Mike got shot.”

“Fuck. When were you gonna tell me, huh? I’ve been worried sick and now you tell me I actually had a reason to-“

“Donna. He… he took the bullet for me. Oh shit, Donna. He probably hates me and blames me for-“

“Harvey. He doesn’t hate you. Is he gonna be okay?”

“Yes, but I was shouting at him and-“

“Look we can deal with it then. And Harvey? He doesn’t hate you.”

“But how can you-“

“Harvey. Stop. Where are you?”

He tells her which hospital he's at and hangs up. He sinks his head back into his hands again. Then goes off to find his puppy.

Not 20 minutes later Donna shows up with food dangling off her fingers. They eat in silence.

Around midnight, she stands.

“I’m going home but I’ll be back at 6 am, what time are you getting here?”

Harvey looks up “I’m not leaving”

“Harvey…”

“No Donna. It’s my fault he’s like this in the first place. It’s the least I owe him.”

“Okay, Harvey. I’ll rebook your appointments for the rest of the week.”

“Thanks, Donna”

She nodded and left with a small smile. Sending off a quick text to Jessica, Harvey sank into his chair and put Mike’s right hand between his own. Not 5 minutes later he was out like a light.

\-----

The next morning, Harvey awoke to plastic bags and a bright get well soon balloon in front of him. He panicked for a moment before he realized that it was only Donna. She had brought breakfast and a casual change of clothes.

“Go home, Harvey. I’ll be here when you come back.”

He left with a nod of gratitude towards her.

Harvey came back around an hour and a half later and settled back into his chair. Donna left for the office. Harvey stroked Mike’s floppy hair off his forehead and lightly traced his finger over his cheek.

“What am I going to do with you, puppy? I still don’t know why you pushed me. After everything I put you through, everything I say. You utter idiot. When that bullet hit you… God Mike. Don’t you ever do something so stupid like that ever again.” Mike’s face remained motionless. 

Donna came back with an update. She told him that Jessica was personally handling Mrs. Heigl’s case and Louis has passed off Mike’s work onto the other associates. She dropped off some files for him to work on. Nothing heavy, just proof-reading or reading through past case profiles.

\-----

Mike blearily came to himself. God his head hurt. It was like a weight determined to bring him down. Mike shifted and groaned, trying to open his eyes. He opened his eyes to slits and groaned again when he briefly saw the blinding white. Then the pain in his shoulder was made known to him. He let out a small moan at it. He then heard some rustling then and the switch of a light. He felt something warm against his forehead and a voice:  
“Come on, Mike. Open your eyes buddy.”

He found the voice strangely familiar and strangely comforting. Mike knew who it was but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He trusted the voice and tried again despite his pounding head.

When he opened his eyes for the second time, he saw a hand shielding him from the light. He tried to turn, tried to alleviate the pain in his back.

“It hurts” he whimpered, quite pathetically in his own opinion.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry”

“Ple-leas…” he made out, not quite sure what he was asking for.

“Mike… I’ll let you get back to sleep” Harvey replied, pressing the morphine button next to his head.

“No. P-ple-ase. You-u be here wh-wen I wa..k..”

Harvey looked at him sadly, eyes filled with regret. He knew what he wanted and he wasn’t planning on denying. 

“I’m not going anywhere, kid.”

\-----

After that he never stayed still, it was an echo of the old Mike. The associate never stayed still his figurative puppy tail always wagging. Mike also woke up 2 more times as well. Harvey wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t remember any of it. He didn’t talk during either time. Just looked up at Harvey with no recognition in his eyes, smiled, and promptly went back to sleep when Harvey triggered the drugs in his IV.

Around 5 pm the next day, a slightly louder groan broke the semi-peaceful silence. The heart-rate monitor sped up slightly.

Harvey immediately put down the file he was reading. His left hand on Mike’s and his right hovering over his face. The kid’s eyes fluttered open and he gave a hoarse groan.

Mike tried to keep his eyes open but it was too bright for him. A hand shielded his eyes yet again and he turned to see who it was. 

“Har-Harvey?”

A sigh of relief. Finally some recognition “Yeah kid, still here.”

“How long have I been out?”

Not wanting to alarm the kid so he replied: “Not long”

Mike sighed and tried to sit up. He jarred his shoulder though, which he wasn’t expecting, and let out a cry. Harvey tried to support him best as he could but it still left Mike a little breathless.

Mike finally faced Harvey. “What are you doing here?”

Harvey guessed he didn’t remember it then. “What do yo-“

“Seriously, Harvey. Why are you here?” 

“Mike…” He looked up to find him staring at him guardedly and expectantly at the same time.

Fine. He was awake enough to ask Harvey questions that make no sense, he might as well ask his own. “I’ll do you one better kid” Pulling up his chair, he leaned forward.

Mike’s gaze shifted to wary quite quickly.

“What do you remember?”

“Everything, Harvey” He replied, looking at him dead in the eye.

“Mike… Why? What the hell is wrong with you kid? It was for me, I was supposed to be lying here,” his voice steadily getting louder “It was supposed to be my life on the line! Not yours! You don’t know what it did to me. You lying there. You died in my arms, Mike. You… Why?! Why couldn’t you have just let him do it? Better me than you. God knows I deserve it a lot more tha-“

“Harv-HARVEY” Mike finally interjected

Taking a minute to catch his breath after shouting at his boss. “I-I couldn’t. I just couldn’t okay? You were standing there an-“

“Shouting at you!” Both their eyes filled with emotions, both threatening to spill over.

“Harvey… I don’t know if you realize it or not but… you gave me a second chance at life. You accepted me, with my gifts and curses. You’re the one person in my life who doesn’t think I'm a screw-up or a tool to be used. You’re basically my savior Harvey.” He looked away as a single tear made its way down his cheek. “I owe you everything I have and more. When he was reaching for his gun… I wasn’t ready... Call me selfish but I couldn’t…”

Harvey looked at the back of his head in shock. Then he came to his senses, putting under Mike’s chin and turning his face back to himself. His sclera was rapidly turning a shade of red under the coming onslaught of tears.

“What makes you think…what makes you think that I was okay with you nearly dying for me? Mike..”

When Mike's tears began flowing in earnest, Harvey brought him into a hug, mindful of his shoulder. Mike immediately started to sob into his shoulder, not even attempting to pull back. Harvey nearly started crying himself. He definitely didn't though. Of course, he didn’t sob against Mike’s neck out of relief for his safety.

Donna certainly didn’t have any proof.


End file.
